Chapter 8
God, this was such a fucking nuisance. I took the note and pictures and put them back into the envelope. I thrashed the flowers. For the next few days, I didn’t go anywhere, but I needed to leave; I had to meet Aleck to reserve the hall for the wedding reception and meet Mallory, Reas, and Nella to Find
caterers.
Mallory had already decided on a color scheme, food, music, dessert–everything. It was just making the rounds now. Three weeks. I successfully avoided Dean and Aleck for three weeks until I couldn’t anymore. Thankfully, it wasn’t just us. I had already printed out the names of the hotels, caterers, dessert shops, wedding dress shops, and everything else. Now, it was out on the road.
I was already downstairs when I remembered that crazy bitch destroyed my car, and I was left without one. I called Aleck.
“Hey, sorry for disturbing you. Umm, my car…”
“You could never disturb me. Well, it was sent to the repair shop, but it’s not finished yet. Are you going somewhere?” he asked hesitantly.
“Yes, Aleck. I need to pick up Mallory and the girls. We’re going dress shopping and doing other stuff. There are three more weeks until the wedding.”
“Okay. Well, I’m in a meeting right now. Dean’s free; he’ll pick you up and take you back to our place. You can use one of our cars.”
“It’s fine; we’ll just get a cab,” I said, trying to cut him off.
“Too late. Dean already left. Have fun, Layla,” he said, ending the call. Shit, shit, shit. About twenty minutes later, Dean pulled up next to me. He didn’t say
anything; he got out and opened the passenger side for me. Might as well. I got in, he got back in, and we left.
“How’s your boyfriend?” he asked.
“He’s okay. Everyone makes mistakes, especially when they’re drunk,” I said, lying. If they thought I was in a relationship, they would stop acting so crazy.
We drove into a private garage; he didn’t say anything. He just sat and looked at me.
“Have you
found a venue for the ceremony and reception?”
“Two. I’m taking Mallory today to check them out. Once she’s given me the green light, I’ll let you know,” I said.
We got out, and he walked over to a top–of–the–line Range Rover.
“Here,” he said, handing me the keys. “It’s yours. Aleck and I bought it for your twenty–fifth birthday. We never got to give it to you. We never got to give you any birthday or Christmas presents,” he said, looking at me.
“Dean, I…” I didn’t know what to say. He walked into me, backing me into the car. His hands touched the right side of my neck, moving my hair away,
exposing the tattoo.
“No matter how it’s spelled, I’ll always know my name. Just like I’ll know my brother’s name,” he said, touching the tattoo, his warm breath on my neck. I
was starting to get affected by his touch.
“Dean… pl…”
“Don’t ever say it’s a mistake. It wasn’t a mistake, whether we were drunk or not. You will never be a mistake to me and Aleck. Be careful and keep me
updated,” he said, pulling away from me and getting into the car.
1/3
3:33 pm P P MM
Chapter 8
I stood looking at him as he drove out of the garage. I opened the car and got in. I let out a shaking breath. No one ever understood the meaning of the tattoos on my neck. On the left side, it was Aleck’s name, only it was spelled (keAlc), and on the right side, it was Dean’s name, and it was spelled (aneD)). Everyone that saw it thought it was weird. I didn’t expect him to figure it out. At least he didn’t ask why I did it.
I started the car and left. I picked Mallory up, then Rea and Nella. The first place we hit up was the venue. Mallory instantly approved but was worried about
Dean and Aleck spending so much money. She called Dean, who told her to be quiet and just go with it. By the end of the day, we had a venue for the
ceremony and for the reception. We had a florist and a wedding planner to direct everything. Makeup and hair. Everything
We visited the dress shop, and the minute we walked in, Mallory saw the dress she wanted. We were skeptical, but after she tried it on, we agreed it was her.
It was a corset top with a straight bottom. It was perfect for her. We bought it right away. When it came to bridesmaid dresses, Mallory asked our opinion.
We all agreed on whatever she wanted except pink.
We settled on emerald green, which would tie in with the color scheme perfectly. We bought the dresses and made the necessary alterations. We were sitting
there when I saw Macy outside the store.
“Guys, I think we have a problem,” I said, looking at Macy. Nella saw her and wanted to confront her, but I stopped her.
“I’m scared she will do something to ruin Mallory’s day,” I said to Rea, and she nodded. I looked at the seamstress.
“Ma’am, can I ask you for a favor?” I said, looking at the older woman.
“Oh, of course,” she said, smiling.
“I am the maid of honor. We’re the entire wedding party. Unless I come in here and personally ask you to change something, could you let us know if anyone
calls and tries to make changes?” I said, looking at her.
I guess she understood, because she nodded. “Oh, it happens many times. Don’t worry, I know what to do,” she said, smiling.
“Thank you.”
After we left, we were at a cafe. We all made calls–to the caterers, venues, florist, everyone–asking them that unless I came in and personally asked them
to cancel or change anything, they shouldn’t do it.
They all agreed. I was on the phone with the reception hall when the woman asked me to hold. “Miss, are you sure you’re Layla Tavers?” She asked, so I put
the phone on speaker.
“Yes, I am. I was there at eleven AM this morning with the bride–to–be Mallory Devin and my friends Rea McNeil and Nella Stone. The payment for the venue was made over the phone and paid by Dean Cavanaugh. You were hesitant to accept the payment, but when he told you who he was, you agreed,” I
said.
“Oh, thank God. I asked you to hold because someone called pretending to be you, asking to cancel the reservation date for the hall.”
“Thank you for letting me know. Thankfully, we called in time. This is what we were trying to avoid happening.”
“Well, now I know. Unless you come in personally, the reservation still stands.”
“Thank you.”
I ended the call and looked at the others. “I can’t believe that bitch would go that far,” Rea said. All of our phones began ringing. Everyone was calling to say someone called to cancel our orders and reservations. We assured them it wasn’t us and that if we wanted to do that, we would return personally and
wouldn’t send anyone else.
2/3
3:33 pm P PM M
Chapter 8
When I got home at nine that night, Josh was in front of the apartment. I just looked at him. “So that’s why you don’t want to give me another chance, huh? So which one of them are you fucking? I see they got you a new cat.”
“What the fuck did you just say?” I asked, looking at him.
“You heard me. You’re pissed at me for fucking Chastity when all along you’ve been fucking your supposed best friends,” he said, grabbing my hand. I heard a car door slam and a fist connecting with Josh’s face.
I looked, and Andrew was standing there. “Layla, are you okay?” he asked, looking at me.
“Who the fuck is this? Another one of your men?” Josh yelled.
“Get the fuck out of here before I kill your ass,” Andrew said, grabbing him.
“This isn’t over, Layla,” Josh yelled as he got into his car. I looked at Andrew. He had his phone out, and I grabbed it.
“Give it back. I’m calling Dean, Aleck, and Chris. We’ll deal with that fucking asshole,” he said.
“No. That’s my ex–fiancée. Don’t tell Dean and Aleck, please. I don’t want them worrying about me. Please, just please, we have two more weeks left for your wedding. I’ll tell them after the wedding,” I pleaded with him.
“Okay. Promise me if you need help, you’ll call me or Chris.”
“I promise, Andrew. Wait, why are you here?”
“Mal forgot her handbag in your car,” he said, smiling.
I opened the car and got her handbag. He stood there and watched me walk into the building and into the elevator. When I got into my apartment, I opened the window and called down to let him know I was okay; then he left.
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R Visitor
4 Comments
they all seem so close
